


Our King

by Micatfish



Category: Cuticle Tantei Inaba | Cuticle Detective Inaba, Hunter X Hunter, Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Crossover Pairings, Developing Relationship, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multiple Crossovers, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Build, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-12
Updated: 2016-07-19
Packaged: 2018-07-14 14:07:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7174901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Micatfish/pseuds/Micatfish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>From the view of God, other dimensions and other worlds are not a foreign concept to the planet of Magi. However, all of the beings that have arrived here -- Aladdin, Djinns, and Al-Thamen -- were from the inhabitants' former planet. What if the links, between those two worlds, that Ugo have created were to be discovered by someone from a completely different universe? People from a modern world, that is not exactly unlike Alma Torran.<br/>For Kei Nozaki, ending up in another world, and being assigned to serve the fourth prince of the Kou Empire, was a stranger-than-usual but temporary event. For Neferpitou, it was another chance after losing his king, Meruem. For Hakuryuu Ren and the world filled with rukh... well, it was the start of a brighter, happier path.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Turning of Fates

**Author's Note:**

> An AU where Hakuryuu has loyal retainers and things are not as hopeless as in canon... really. I promise.

In a forest...

One punch to the face was all it took... for the royal guard to lose, and sent flying through the air until Chimera Ant's battered body finally slammed into a tree trunk that did not get ripped apart by the force.

Covered in fresh blue blood that spilled from the wounds, Pitou thought of the Chimera Ant King, and the human boy coming closer to complete his revenge for a precious friend that had been killed for entertainment.

 _I'm glad I'm the one to die…!_ Pitou thought, although barely conscious, as the aberrant soul - recombined from the souls of a human, a cat, an ant, and possibly more - slowly departed from the physical world to cross into the afterlife...

Only to never reach Heaven or Hell.

v****v

In a normal house owned by the Mafia...

Standing on top of a table, Don Valentino laughed as he thought of getting rid of the wolf once and for all. Now that Noah had successfully created a machine that will send the wolf to another world, hence erasing his enemy's existence forever, all he had to do was lure the wolf into a trap and force him into the machine's chair. Having already sent a letter containing a fake invitation to a party to the Secret Doberman's residence, the only thing left to do was to wait.

He did not have to wait long, fortunately, as Hiroshi Inaba and his companions burst through the door just seconds later. Everything was going as planned.. until Lorenzo accidentally shoved one of Inaba's assistants, Kei Nozaki, into the modified leather chair meant for the wolf, while trying to dodge Inaba's signature attack.

Just as Kei disappeared from the room in a flash of light, the Cuticle Bolt attack electrocuted both Lorenzo and the machine.

This resulted in the raven-haired boy being sent away with currently no way of returning and a certain goat being strangled to death by his streak-haired underling.

Unknown to the unconscious 16-year-old, his body dragged along a soul journeying to the afterlife.

v****v

In the Imperial Palace of the Kou Empire...

The first imperial princess, Hakuei Ren, and her most faithful retainer, Seishun Ri, were sparring in a secluded training ground. As they stopped to rest and rehydrate themselves, Seishun brought up one of their usual topics - to which Hakuei shook her head. It had been many times Seishun suggested to his princess that she should hire an assistant for her younger brother. However, the only reply he ever received was that she'll think about it. This time too, she merely told him that she haven't found anyone she could entrust with Hakuryuu, and ended the conversation. Seishun could see, despite the princess's efforts, that she was constantly worried for Hakuryuu, who frequently avoid or ignore everyone in the palace but them and his tutors. As such, he kept suggesting, hoping that eventually she would agree to do so.

That way, both hers and his concerns will dwindle.

Unbeknownst to them, a bored teen was eavesdropping as he chewed his peach, hidden among the leaves of the tall tree right above their heads.

/vvv/

Within a second, two bodies materialized out of thin air and crashed into the backyard of the palace, one of a half-dead humanoid animal and an unconscious human teenager. The enormous amount of Nen left in the Chimera Ant's body had transported the body there - instead of continuing to fuel a technique named Terpsichora - as soon as it felt that its soul was in another world. Pitou was saved from having to coexist with a certain human in his comparatively fragile body.

No one noticed the unusual event except for a 14-year-old prince with a burn scar on the left side of his face, Hakuryuu Ren.


	2. All Conscious

Hakuryuu could not believe his eyes, although he could only see clearly out of one of them. A humanoid cat had appeared out of nowhere, just a few inches off the ground, before crashing onto the dirt floor with a quiet thud. There was also a ruffle among the bushes, but the prince paid no attention to it. Seeing him - or was it her? Hakuryuu could not tell - so badly injured, his first thought was that it was the work of his mother and Al-Thamen. They were the only ones he knew who would such horrid things, but he could not jump to conclusion yet. Not with all the things that had been happening over the last few years.

The young prince took in a deep breath, then a step forward before stopping. He turned around on his heel to head back into the palace. The mysterious creature was not dead and would need medical attention as soon as possible if he was to survive.

 _Is this the afterlife?_ Pitou thought, _No…_ Not while he still felt so numb and wet from blood like when he was fighting that boy, Gon. All around him, there were smells of flowers, grass, trees, and birds. Farther away, he could hear humans, their footsteps, and their tools. They felt weird, not like the rare humans or the ordinary humans though - just weird, like their souls were slightly different. Still, even with the differences, this couldn't be the afterlife... not when the smells of blood and death were so strong.

The royal guard's next thought was of his king, was he safe? Pouf and Youpi must be with him, and his king was the strongest, so he had to be - since Gon will never be able to use Nen again. Not after killing - no, defeating him - since he was still alive. Wherever this place was.

Then, the presence that had stood there since he became conscious, took a step forward; the sole of the foot crushing the blades of grass a few feet away. Pitou tensed and tried to spring up, but his body only twitched. Some of his important bones were broken, and he couldn't generate even an ounce of his Nen - although he could still feel the power inside of him. Just as he was waiting, however, the enemy turned and moved away.

Neferpitou did not have time to relax, though, for a faint existence appeared right next to him. How could he have not noticed!? Pitou's instinct took over, his eyes forcing themselves open as his body tried to move once more. All he could see was black and blurry. The boy had punched him in the face after all.

Kei was soothing the bump on his head, confused by the numbness, though that feeling was quickly consumed by dread as he took in his surroundings. He had woke up outside, near a building that certainly did not belong in his time, with his body aching all over the place. _This was probably what Valentino and his gang planned_ , Kei determined, _to send Inaba-san to another world or time._ There was something odd in the air, a fuzzy feeling nibbling at his skin, that made him think of the former theory. Either way, Kei was stuck here until they find a way to bring him home. As his head cleared out of the leaves, the 16-year-old boy was met with a horrifying sight.

Sprawled on the grass-less ground was a half human/half cat creature - who appeared to be female - lying on her side covered in cuts, bruises, and blue liquid that seemed to be blood. Her arms and legs were twisted and bent in impossible angles. Layers of dried blood covered her face and hands - which only had four fingers each. Blood trailed from her mouth, indicating her organs were damaged, possibly stabbed by broken ribs. Her hair and fur dirtied by dirt and whatnots, turned into ugly shades, making it impossible for Kei to tell what color they originally were.

Although he was allergic to cats, Kei was an obsessive cat lover; the sight of Pitou scarred him even more than it would have if the one injured before him was purely human. As he approached to help, however, Pitou's eyes snapped open. His glowing, ruby-red eyes stared into him aggressively, causing the cat lover to step back instinctively. For some reason, he felt as though he was about to be suffocated.

As he stared back uncertainly, the teen noticed that the humanoid cat's gaze was unfocused and clouded - as though she couldn't see well, if at all.

Gathering his courage, Kei bent forward, his arm extended… only to jump back when invisible claws dug into his arm. With his left hand covering the deep, bloody scratch marks, the boy look at the now crimson claws fearfully. His blood slid down the three of the four fingers, dyeing the pearl color red, and painfully reminding him of his injury. He had never endured anything so painful in his life… except that one time… despite interacting almost regularly with the mafia and terrorists.

_Now that I think about it, Ogi-san always took the brunt of the dangers… including Yuuta-kun.._

Though the broken arm now lay motionless on the ground, Kei did not dare venture closer. A decision finalized by Pitou's sharp hiss at his slight shift in posture, which happened to be an inch forward.

It was only when footsteps and voices were heard that Kei snapped out of his daze and hid himself in the bushes he woke up among… unaware of the blood trails he left behind.

v****v

Meanwhile…

There was nothing but silence throughout the forest. Neither birds nor critters dared to remain within the range of the deep, anguishing aura sweeping through every cracks and space - no matter how tiny - that could be used as a hiding place. Yet, there was nothing. Gon could not find Pitou, although the creature had been right in front of him. It couldn't have gone far, it shouldn't have even been able to move. Not unless… not unless it... Gon couldn't compute. Months of holding in his rage, of locking everything inside while planning and training so hard, had been for nothing. That waiting, that _one hour_ of waiting for his enemy to finish healing that stranger, had been his… Before he could identify the words struggling to form in his forcefully grown brain, Gon felt someone entering into his En range at lightning speed. Killua.

"Gon… is that you?"

"Killua, I ca… Kite is dead…" As Gon looked down into his best friend's eyes, seeing but not really registering the emotions storming within them, he couldn't bring himself to say that he couldn't get Kite back. He couldn't say that Pitou escaped, that he couldn't avenge Kite despite everything.

It would be weeks later, after waking up from his coma, that Gon learned Kite wasn't truly dead.


	3. First Step to Taming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry forgot to say this before, but I decided to leave the honorifics -dono (Lord/Lady, but lack self-humbling), -san (Mr./Ms.), and -sama (Lord/Lady/Master; “a term of great respect, one step higher than -san”) untranslated because they don’t really have an english equivalent that wouldn’t really sound weird (at least in Cuticle Detective Inaba) or one that is completely accurate. I also decided to leave -kun and -chan as they are as well because they don’t have an English equivalent at all.

When Hakuryuu came back along with four servants to aid the dying humanoid, Pitou glared at them with slit pupils, visibly causing the normal humans to tremble as they huddled together. All of them froze, although there was at least 15 feet between each human and the Chimera Ant.

Still, Hakuryuu steeled himself, by thinking of what his late brothers would do, and stepped forward. Instantly, a loud hiss was heard throughout the surrounding areas as a clawed hand feebly attempted to take a defensive stance. Neferpitou's wide, flaring red eyes spoke of the danger he was capable of... Even more, however, they spoke of the fear and doubts plaguing the beast's mind - at least to Hakuryuu.

Gaining the courage he needed, the scarred prince continued moving forward, ignoring the cowardly servants' screams as they plead for him to stop and back away.

A couple moments had already passed when the first princess of Kou and her assistant arrived from the inner palace, swords still gripped in their hands. Although they had come as soon as they heard the loud hisses and cries that could only belong to that of a wild beast, the two found themselves unable to describe the scene in front of them. With his hair and clothes in a tattered mess, Hakuryuu was struggling to keep hold of a bloodied humanoid cat - while crying and spewing out almost unintelligible words. Before Hakuei and Seishun could even speak, however, the struggling creased and silent followed.

A brave servant, soon followed by others, slowly ventured forward. They met no resistance as they worked on moving the humanoid cat to an infirmary.

To be honest, Pitou wasn't sure what happened. All he knew what that no matter how much he threatened and harmed the scarred boy, he wouldn't go away. At first the boy had been calm enough - even if nervous. But then, he broke down and cried when Pitou aggressively refused to let him help - at least that what the boy had stammered out along with "stupid" and "you're going to die!"

In the end Pitou became too tired to fight. Deciding that giving in wouldn't be too bad - the humans here seemed weak and harmless anyway - he let himself sink into the warmness of the boy without a word. He could kill them and search for his king after he recovered more strength. Right now, he could not even summon his Nen.

Kei was more than amazed. He had watched the whole scene behind the bushes, watched as the boy who seemed to be younger than him held and calmed the cat girl even as she struggled and clawed him. Staring at his torn, expensive-looking cloth soaked with blood, it sent shivers through his spine - how could the boy stand that?! Unconsciously, his hand stroked his injured arm. It was just damp in comparison.

"Who are you?"

Kei jumped, turning to meet a sky-blue-haired boy who was looking at him suspiciously. _Is that dyed?_ Kei found himself thinking. The thought quickly evaporated, however, when he realized a metal sword was pointing at him. In this world, he might be killed for real.

Waving his hands desperately in front of him, the raven-haired stuttered out, "M-My name is Kei Nozaki and, um, I ca-came for a-a job-b!" Kei averted his eyes for a second, "but I got lost and e-ended up here! Hahaha… I'm so sorry!" He quickly bowed.

Hakuei nodded in acknowledgement as she gracefully appeared next to her assistant. Reluctantly, Seishun lowered his sword. "Princess…"

The cat lover let out a breath in relief at the sound of metal dropping, but did not dare raise his head even as he paled at the thought of being in a royalty's presence - at their palace no less. _I'm doomed. I'm totally doomed._ Kei thought.

Lost in a mental breakdown, he must have misheard the princess' words as he quickly straighten up, and said "I-I beg your pardon?"

Smiling, she repeated her words. "Would you like to become my brother's assistant?"

v****v

Meanwhile…

"I hate to say this Goat, but we have to work together to bring Kei back." said Hiroshi Inaba, bending down to Don Valentino's eye level. Beside the private eye was his (former) partner, Ogino Kuniharu, who held a specialized handcuff with a neutral expression. Although he wanted to arrest the goat, doing so would not make rescuing Kei easier given the government's current technology. They needed Noah, the teen genius currently glaring with disgust evidenced in her indigo eyes, to cooperate with them.

"How can you say that aro!?" said Valentino as he swung in midair, "I am tied up, I am!" All four of his hooves were tightly bounded together with a rope tied to the ceiling, leaving the Don upside down. On the opposite side of the room, frantic shouts of Lorenzo were being muffled by a special type of bondage done by Inaba. How he had managed to gag a guy wearing a bag over his head without taking it off remain a mystery that only masochists would know. Of the people who could still move freely, there was no one strong enough who could save Don Valentino, except one. "Gabriella!"

The streak-haired woman scowled as she lift up her gun. Inaba Hiroshi tensed as he gazed behind him toward the female assassin, but settled his eyes on his blond assistant, Yuuta Sasaki. The wolf was silently telling Yuuta to help him transform in case he needed to fight. The assistant shrugged slightly before turning to Noah, who only paid him a second glance as she kept her eyes on Gabriella. "What?" said the streak-haired assassin, before clicking her tongue and lowering her gun. "I'm not going to shoot him." said Gabriella, "I mean my minion getting send to some dangerous place without me or my permission wasn't his fault."

"You already strangled me, you did." said Valentino, as he thought that was the reason he got captured in the first place. When it came to people Gabriella counted as her underlings, she was awfully protective and caring.

"Kei's my assistant, streaked hair!" said Inaba, "And it's you guys' fault he got sent away with that machine! What if he ends up dead?"

"Shut up Wolf!" said Gabriella, firing at him. Inaba shrieked as the bullet missed him by a hair's breadth. "Anyways, this is getting no where. Noah, do you know what world the wolf was meant to go?"

The teen genius shook her head before looking down in thought. "I only found a wave signal of another world coming from a dimension near ours. While I was developing the time-space jump chair," said Noah, "I realized that there were actually multiple worlds near each other in that dimension, but since the purpose was to send the wolf somewhere he can't return from, I didn't research that much into it. From the look of things though, it's like a past version of our world."

"Since you found it by its signal, can't you tune in to it again?" said Yuuta, tilting his head as he thought about the pros and cons of bringing Kei back. The cons outweighed everything. "If not, maybe we can tune in to his spirit through Soumei or necromancy." Given the existence of ghosts, werewolves, and talking goats in their world, Kei finding his way back to their world after death shouldn't be too impossible.

"He's not dead, Assistant." said Ogino, who was confident of his non-biological son's ability to take care of himself.

Noah hummed. "If the machine haven't been completely fried, I would have been able to recover some data or traces, but…" All heads turned toward Inaba, who shrank with dropped ears at the amount of judging eyes directed at him. The werewolf mumbled an apology, while blaming the goat and Lorenzo under his breath. Suddenly, Noah perked. "My lab! If I combine that data with that program I should be able to estimate where he end up, though it's rather risky to do a trial and error for this kind of thing…" Noah trailed off, cupping her chin with her hand. Within another minute, however, she ran toward the door. "Sis, and you Wolf, come with me- we should be able to get back your assistant in a few days."

Gabriella and Inaba glanced at each other, sharing a thought that all leaders of a pack would understand, before following Noah to her laboratory at the abandoned hospital. As Yuuta watched his boss left him to go save the other assistant, he sulked with unshed tears and vanished at the speed of sound. Left alone with tied up Valentino and Lorenzo, the two main pillars of the Valentino Family, Ogino observed them. The goat had fainted from the amount of blood that rushed into his head, causing the muffled screams to become even more desperate and annoying than before.

_Should I turn them in now?_ Ogino thought, unable to keep from feeling disappointed that after all their previous attempts, the two criminals would be arrested so easily.


	4. Forced New Roads

The youngest prince of Kou, Hakuryuu, couldn't believe what his sister had just said. He didn't want, nor need, an assistant. His frown deepened even more at the raven-haired stranger's reply.

"Y-Yes!" Kei answered, too afraid to say no. Besides, it couldn't be that bad right? He was used to being an assistant anyway. To ignore the uncomfortable feeling in his chest, he turned to the boy he would be serving from now on - at least, until Inaba-san and the others found a way to bring him home.

Hakuei smiled brightly, then turned to the boy who walked to stand beside her despite his deep, still bleeding wounds. "This is my younger brother, Hakuryuu." The princess gestured toward the boy whose face shared many of her features, although half was covered by burn scar.

As the eyes were set upon him, Hakuryuu's face became unreadable - neutral almost, but not quite. Slightly bowing with his hands out in their proper posture, the prince said, "I look forward to our time together. Kei-dono. Please treat me well from today onward."

"Y-Yes, Hakuryuu-sama!" shouted Kei, a sweat running down his cheek as he bowed much lower than the prince. "And please, c-call me Kei, my prince..?"

Hakuryuu smiled, although he was somewhat uncomfortable - and somewhat happy - with how Kei addressed him. He was the fourth prince, far in line for the throne. "Alright, Kei."

Kei smiled back, and tried to ignore the shivering of his legs. Somehow, not only had he ended up all alone in a unfamiliar place, he was made to serve a prince - a prince who was younger, and had shown way more courage, than him.

Neither of them said a word after that.

Hakuei decided to interfere, "Hakuryuu, Kei, you two should go to get those injuries treated." Finally remembering their wounds, as well as the cause, the two teenagers quickly headed to the medical room.

/vvv/

When they arrived at the room where the strange creature - as no one was sure the humanoid cat could be considered human - was being kept, Hakuryuu and Kei found many servants trying to heal the creature, although with little success. When a servant - who wasn't doing anything important - noticed Hakuryuu, she saluted and began treating his wounds. Another servant came toward Kei.

As servants were blocking the view of the patients, Hakuryuu asked, "Where is the one I ordered you to treat?"

The servant flinched, but did not stop bandaging him. "Prince Hakuryuu, we are afraid that she cannot be saved without magic. She is still breathing but," she paused for a moment, "Her skull is completely crushed, and many internal organs and bones are damaged."

Hakuryuu nodded, although his body had begun to heat up as memories of his own near-death experience surfaced. "Are there any magician available at this moment in the palace?" he said, causing Kei to look toward him.

"We have requested but…" The need of the fourth prince takes a backseat to those of the emperor and higher-ranked princes like Kouen, Hakuryuu knew without needing to be told. It also did not help that most of the magicians - that weren't part of Al-Thamen - belonged in Kouen's and Kouha's army.

Hakuryuu took a deep breath. He could not ask anyone in that organization for help - he would rather die before that - so it appeared there was no hope. After his wounds were treated, Hakuryuu gently gestured the old woman out of his way. The prince then walked toward the bed most swarmed with servants carrying bandages and other medical tools he lacked the knowledge to name. The servants stepped out of his way.

Neferpitou was drifting in and out of conscious, as he had worsened his injuries during his resistance against that human boy. Although he was aware, he could not do anything against the humans swarming around and touching him with all sorts of things - such as to soak away the blood on his face and to remove his soiled clothing.

Then, a warm hand covered one of his, spreading Nen throughout the inside of his body. Pitou panicked, forcing himself to sit up and glare at the scarred face of the human standing next to him. The boy's eyes were wide, and he showed no signs of hostility or malice. Pitou's fur stopped bristling, although his ears remain flat against the top of his head. Whatever this human did, Pitou regained control of his Nen returning because of it.

"Doctor Blythe," Pitou murmured.

As his Nen materialized a giant porcelain doll with red hair and a solemn face, all but one of the able-bodied humans ran out the door - pushing against or dragging out each other as they tried to escape.

The 14-year-old prince observed the motionless, half-naked body lying before him, noting the lack of blue liquid and strangely even breathing of the creature. Hakuryuu had always been under the impression that when people were dying, their breathing would be harsh and shallow as they try to continue fighting.

 _He accepted his death?_ Hakuryuu thought bitterly, even though he had entertained the idea of giving up on the creature just seconds ago. Placing his right hand on top of a clawed one, Hakuryuu channeled his Magoi into the humanoid cat, trying to see for himself the internal condition of the dying creature. If he really was a failed experiment of Al-Thamen, there could be some useful information.

At least, that was what he intended.

Four sharp claws dug into the back of his hand, clinging on tightly even as he stepped away and tried to free his bleeding hand. The four-fingered hand let go willingly when the body to which it was attached sat in an upright position.

Hakuryuu, and everyone else in the room, felt before they could even comprehend the situation or glance at the Chimera Ant - felt the hostility embodied in Pitou's Nen, covering the entire 20 feet by 10 feet room in an instant and sucking oxygen out of the air. There was a stampede as everyone except Hakuryuu tried to run out of the door as fast as possible, toward safety and fresh air.

The young prince would have escaped too, had his feet not been rooted to the ground, and he wasn't feeling the same sick feeling as when he was caught among the fire with his older brothers. Looking at the doll-like monster, Hakuryuu had trouble breathing and his voice was caught in his dried throat. It wasn't like when he confronted his mother about what Hakuyuu said, but it was almost the same.

Nothing happened though, and as he stared back into the blood red eyes of Pitou, Hakuryuu could suddenly breathe easier. The humanoid cat wasn't his mother, his eyes were not shining with coldness and smug superiority. The creepy doll connected to his tail only seemed to be for repairing his injured face too… there was nothing to be scared of.

"Hakuryuu-sama! Are you alright?!" shouted Kei from the doorway, his legs trembling although the raven-haired boy wanted to come in.

Breaking his eye contact with Pitou, Hakuryuu turned toward his new retainer and absentmindedly nodded. When the prince saw that the nurses and other servants were still behind Kei, he scanned the room. Besides the royal guard, there were five patients who seemed to be soldiers on temporary medical leave. All of them were still on guard, wearing a determined expression worthy of Kou soldiers. It seemed Hakuryuu had embarrassed himself as a prince.

After composing himself with a deep breath, Hakuryuu smiled at Pitou - whose eyes had not swayed from him even once.

"I'm glad that you are capable of healing yourself," said Hakuryuu, although he was slightly unnerved by Pitou's intense stare. "Please, tell me what happened.. and where you came from."

Nothing in the ruby eyes wavered, and like before, the humanoid cat would not answer Hakuryuu. Since the suffocating feeling was gone, servants were starting to fill the room again. Although most avoided coming close to Pitou and his bed, a few of them were asking of the prince's condition and requesting that he return to his lessons.

Hakuryuu was hardly paying attention to the stammering servants, but he nodded before glancing at Pitou and saying, "Please locate the other patients to another infirmary, I believe it will be safer for them there."

"B-But my prince..." a servant stuttered. Closing off an entire medical room was beyond the power of a fourth prince. Hakuryuu resisted the urge to glare, although more at his powerlessness than the old nurse.

"Isn't it fine?" a scantily clad man said as he walked over, and placed his arm around Hakuryuu's shoulder. "You found something really interesting, Hakuryuu."

"High Priest," said Hakuryuu, "What are you doing here?" Given his schedule, the magi should have assumed he was at the library with his tutors.

"You requested a magician didn't you? None of them would come but they're not worth your time anyway," said Judal, smiling, "So what do you need magic for?"

"Everything is fine now, High Priest." said Hakuryuu as he nudged the magi away with his elbow. Judal stopped smiling.

"Hakuryuu, you're bleeding." said Judal, grabbing the prince's right hand. While running his thumb over the holes on the back of Hakuryuu's hand, Judal caught sight of the bandages wrapped around his arms and under his tattered clothes. The magi glanced coldly at Pitou, whose fur was standing on ends, then at Doctor Blythe.

Turning toward the servants, most of whom flinched under Judal's gaze, he said, "You all let this happened?"

Kei had no idea what was going on, which was worrying given the people and situations he had to deal with back in his normal world. The cat girl they found dying in the yard was perfectly capable of healing herself, albeit with a creepy nurse doll that reminded Kei of Noah's inventions. Since the people of this world freaked out, and hid behind him of all people, such ability was definitely not normal in this world. Did she arrive from another world like him? But two people transporting to the same place from two different worlds at the same time felt unreal at best, and impossible at worst…

 _And what's with that guy?_ Kei thought, staring after the guy who had rudely pushed past him, _Middle Eastern style clothing in a palace that obviously belong to Chinese Empire?_

"High Priest, what are you doing here?" said Hakuryuu, although Kei barely heard him from so far away.

_He's a high priest? He looks more like a dancer or something!_

"Are you alright?"

The raven-haired teen turned lifelessly toward the middle-aged woman gazing at him with attentive eyes. It seemed she did not have a job to return to at the moment."Huh?"

"You are sweating," she said, offering him a towel, "You're not from around here, are you? How did you get in the palace?"

Kei swallowed, nodding a thank as he accepted the towel. He could not say he had been sweating because he was trying not to shout something rude in a world he shouldn't exist. "I-I'm Hakuryuu-sama's personal assistant. Princess Hakuei appointed me today." Kei said while thinking, _literally like ten minutes ago._

"I see, well, you should get a new set of clothes," the woman said, just as someone called her to help move a patient. "You're standing out a lot - too much." With that, she walked away, leaving Kei to stare at his blue jacket and jeans. _But these are ordinarily clothes…_

"I TOTALLY STAND OUT!"

/vvv/

While Hakuryuu and his new retainer visited Pitou, Hakuei and Seishun returned to the preparation for their journey. As the first princess had been chosen by the High Priest to capture a dungeon, she was allowed to take as much supplies as she wished for the quest. Of course, that was only the words of the emperor, as the actual tasks of securing the necessary items and manpower fell on Hakuei's attendants. Hereby, the amount of the supplies she could take depended on the abilities of her and her potential households.

"Seishun," Hakuei said, capturing her assistant's attention. The cyan-haired boy looked up from his scroll, which listed the things they still needed to gather. There wasn't a lot, so they could set off by tomorrow if the rest of today went as planned.

"Yes Princess?"

"How did you realize that boy was there?" She was ashamed to say that she did not realize the presence of a stranger in a bush merely a few feet away. Such inability would be fatal in a dungeon.

"I saw a blood trail on the ground that looked new," Seishun informed, "At first, I thought they were from that humanoid cat, but then I saw him in the bushes." Hakuei gasped, but felt relieved despite her conscience.

"You mean he wasn't really hiding at all?"

Seishun nodded, his brows furrowed. "He hid very poorly, yet we didn't notice him."

After a couple of minutes had gone by, Hakuei suddenly said, "Maybe... He is somehow different from us..?"

The dual swordsman's head snapped toward his princess, "H-Huh!? Then why did you choose him as Prince Hakuryuu's attendant?"

"I felt… that I could trust him…" She thought for a moment. "Then again, I'm not very sure either…"

"Eh..?"

/vvv/

"What's up with him?" Judal commented, tilting his head at the black-haired boy - 2 years younger than him - who had just broken the tension in the room.

"He's… my retainer." Hakuryuu said. The prince sighed as he averted his eyes from Kei, who seemed to be in a mental breakdown over something. He focused instead on removing Judal's hand from his. The magi let him, although he hummed absentmindedly. His ruby eyes were fixated on Kei.

"Hey, what did you say to him?" a servant murmured to her coworker, trying to keep her voice as soft as possible. Hakuryuu glanced at her without moving his head.

"What? This isn't my fault, I just told him he needs a change of clothes."

The young prince did notice that the older teen's outfit was weird, but had not put much thought into it until now. He had assumed that such were the way people dressed in Kei's homeland… wherever it was. Hakuryuu frowned. Before he could even protest, a stranger who was most likely not a citizen of Kou had been made into his assistant. Only the words of the emperor could overturn the first princess's words, and Hakuryuu had no doubt that the shallow man would even care.

"The two of you," Hakuryuu said, turning to the gossiping women who flinched under his gaze, "Please get my retainer some new clothing."

"O-Of course Your Highness!" the two said simultaneously. As they hurried away, one of them hissed, "You should have kept your word shut."

It would take an hour before Doctor Blythe mend his wounds enough for him to move about without too much difficulty, then another thirty minutes until he could properly fight. Since there was no immediate threat to his king and Komugi was safe with Pouf, as far as Pitou knew, he could - he _must_ , the royal guard reasoned - afford this time to recover his strength.

Although he heard and understood that scarred boy's words, Pitou felt no need to reply. Then, almost too soon, the boy's attention refocused to the other humans - including an especially strange one. As such, Pitou failed to obtain any useful information regarding his current location. However, the Chimera Ant could tell that they were not part of those attackers' group, and were not intending to cause him harm. For that, Neferpitou decided to stay put.

Humans continued to buzz around him, sometimes calmly yet nervously… sometimes on the verge of panic. They slowly decreased in number.

Soon after all his wounds healed, sunlight dimmed and turned crimson, bathing the white walls and sheets in soft warm colors. Pitou relaxed further, and further still as the long room was slowly engulfed by darkness. Darkness of a moonless night. Rather than hunting for information, the royal guard felt like going to sleep.

Against his conscious thoughts, a nagging instinct enhanced by the heaviness of his muscles told him to wait.

When a young human girl tremblingly tip-toed in, her fingers tightly clenching two unlit candles, Pitou could tell she was bothered by his eyes, staring at them as though they were glowing. Pitou smiled, and the human scrambled away.

The old used candle remained on the wooden floor, completely ignored by the infirmary's sole inhabitant. Soothed by the melodious sound of leaves and branches, Neferpitou slipped into sleep's embrace.

/vvv/

He found himself standing beneath a large oak tree. A serene meadow, with grass and flowers of the purest and brilliant shades, stretched out before him. Everything was bathed in warmth of the great sun in the clear blue sky. The scenery around him seemed to whirl, its bright colors mixing and fading only to turn almost unbearable a second later. Then… an all-too-familiar voice called out to him.

"Pitou." The oldest royal guard turned, and kneeled instantly.

There, behind him was his king and Komugi, standing side by side, their hands linked. A little further back stood his peers, Pouf and Youpi. Their expressions were unreadable, yet not exactly unpleasant.

"King… what…?" The words he wished to ask died on his tongue as he felt wetness on his cheeks. Something inside him was mourning, but his human-influenced brain could not process why.

Did not wish to acknowledge why, even as he stared up at his king, whose body seemed to be playing tricks on his eyes. All of them looked slightly transparent...

"Pitou, We don't have much time so I'll make this quick. I am glad to see you're alive, even if it's in a different universe." His king said, "And in this new world, live - find a new king to follow if you must."

"King -"

"I am no longer your king." he said, his eyes firm, "I am Meruem."

Pitou could hardly breathe as he feebly yelled, "No..! King! I-"

His king silenced him with a look. "Pitou. This is an order." The too-bright world was fading, leaving him alone in the darkness.

"You have done well as my royal guard, Pitou. You have my gratitude."

That was the last thing Neferpitou heard, for he did not hear his peers' words... nor Komugi's thank you. "T-Thank you for saving my life, I promise I'll take care of Meruem."

By then the darkness had engulfed him and disappeared.

/vvv/

Neferpitou woke up to the light of dawn, the white walls reflecting the golden glow. Right beside him was that scarred boy, who seemed frozen in place as he stopped wringing a cloth… but Pitou couldn't care. He couldn't care less about anything anymore - what matters now that he had lost his king?! He failed, the whole royal guards failed!

The human boy was staring at him, with the same expression as his king… the same gaze before he faded away… Pitou could feel his body crying and clawing at the sheets, a fist reaching out to smash the vase on the end table. There was an innate need to destroy everything, to destroy reality… this world itself… anything to get back to his king.

Everything but the wide-eyed boy next to him.


	5. Kei’s Trial

When the servants came back with purple clothing that bore a resemblance to Hakuryuu’s and that princess’s attendant, Kei was forcefully stripped of his favorite -- though now ripped -- jacket. They seemed to have been particularly fascinated with his slanted zipper, as they ran with it to who knows where. Fortunately, however, he was able to convince them to leave his shirt and jeans alone. His phone and wallet were hidden in the pockets after all, though he doubted they would be really useful.

Hakuryuu and Judal were still talking about something -- or more like the high priest was still pestering the prince, who should be returning to his studies. Kei briefly wondered if he should help, having been assigned Hakuryuu’s assistant and all, but brushed the thought away when he observed that no one seemed to care. Besides, he didn’t lift a finger when Ogata bothered Inaba either.

 

“Let’s go conquer a dungeon together Hakuryuu~!” said Judal, although there was a slight hint of distraction in his tone. The magi had found Hakuryuu’s newest retainer to be strange -- to say the least -- as he could not see or sense any rukh around him. Like with all things that did not really matter to him, however, Judal decided to ignore it. “I just raise a new one for you -- it’s near that stupid king’s place, but you’ll come with me right?”

Hakuryuu sighed. “No, I won’t. So stop bothering me, High Priest.” The youngest prince twitched as some medicine caused his latest injury to sting. He had merely been caught by surprise. Although still rather aware of the situations around him, such as Judal and the gossiping of some servants, Hakuryuu’s mind began wandering through the questions he wanted answers to. There was too much changes in one day, even if it wasn’t like his world had been flipped upside down. He, of all people, would know what that feel like.

“Oh come on,” moaned Judal, placing his hand on Hakuryuu’s shoulder. The young prince ignored him. 

 

As Kei stood by the wooden door, a veiled man walked past him. He was carrying a strange, scythe-shaped staff that made the raven-haired boy shivered. It was as though the temperature in the room had dropped, like a grim reaper passing by. The man stopped in front of the high priest, murmured a few words and shook his head in response to Judal’s whine. After a final pat on Hakuryuu’s shoulder, to which the prince sighed and closed his eyes, Judal agreed to go with the blond man. Official duties, perhaps, although Kei wasn’t betting on it. Neither two seemed like the type to do such work.

The high priest glanced at him as he walked by, crimson eyes lingering far longer than his long, segmented braid. Haruka instantly appeared in Kei’s mind, but faded away just as quickly. The boy’s motif was a white rabbit after all, not something like a black scorpion, though both shared the same shade of eye color. Kei was then called by another servant, who told him that she will give him a tour of the palace before leading him to his new room. 

“Prince Hakuryuu’s order,” she said, almost tiredly, when she caught him looking toward the prince. “He does not wish to be disturbed right now.”

As Kei watched Hakuryuu exited through another door with a solemn expression -- specifically with furrowed brows and tightly-pressed lips -- he couldn’t help but wondered if this was why a stranger and outsider like him was recruited for such an important position.

/vvv/

“Hey Gyokuen, what do you want?” said Judal as he stepped without hesitation into the bedroom of the empress. Inside was a dark-haired woman surrounded by many veiled men, some of whom were braiding the woman’s hair. She did not acknowledge Judal right away, waiting until her hair was fully styled before standing up. As she walked gracefully across the room, a sweet smile lay fixed upon her face. Like a mother, Gyokuen cupped the magi’s cheeks with her hands as she looked deep into his crimson eyes. 

“Judal~ Why did you summon a dungeon so close to another king’s territory?” said the empress, still smiling. “Especially that king’s, what were you thinking?”

There was something prickling at his neck, almost urging him to pull away, but Judal ignored it as he replied, “Eh, I overheard you and that pig talking about sending Hakuryuu to study there, and I thought a dungeon with a weird feeling like that would be perfect.”

“A weird feeling?” repeated Gyokuen. She paid no attention to the way Judal referred to her husband, the current emperor. Instead, mild curiosity swelled in her ocean blue eyes while her hands drop back to her sides. “Can you describe it?”

Judal shrugged, crossing his legs as he turned a little to the right. The room was filled with many things, from scrolls to many beauty products, all arranged in an orderly fashion on top of the shelves and tables. The veiled men were still in the room, standing in complete silence as though they were dolls. It seemed that Ithnan had saw himself out a long time ago, off to wherever he goes when not teaching magic to Judal. “It just started dragging people in with these vine things as soon as I summoned it.” he said.

Gyokuen’s smile grew, a curved line that spread her cheeks but did not reach her eyes. “I see. You did good, Judal.” said the empress. She trailed one hand down his arm, propelling the magi to look at her once more. Her eyes shone knowingly. “I have to go to a meeting soon, but is there something else you would like to share with me?”

Judal stared, then blinked as his face brightened. “Oh, Hakuryuu found this cat creature that has black rukh like yours! It has a weird magic too-- a puppet that was healing its wounds.” he said, thinking back to all the strange little tools of Pitou’s Doctor Blythe.

The empress hummed. It was only a fraction of a second, but her smile wavered at the unexpected variable. “Hakuryuu?” murmured Gyokuen, becoming silent for a moment. As the faraway look faded from her eyes, she urged Judal aside so that he would not block the doorway. Looking back toward him, as though she just remembered his presence, the empress said, “It’s time for me to go meet His Majesty, so why don’t we continue this conversation later?” 

/vvv/

“And this is the library,” said the servant as she led Kei around the palace as though she expected him to remember the whole layout with one quick tour. While walking past the slightly opened doors of the library, however, Kei caught sight of a red-haired person holding his jacket up in the air. Due to the person’s long ponytail and bangs, the raven-haired assistant could not see the person’s face.

“Ah!” Kei exclaimed, pointing his finger toward his jacket and the one holding it. After a quick glance in that direction, the servant visibly seethed as she grabbed his arm to force it down. 

“What are you --? Oh god, that’s Prince Koumei, you i -- G-Good evening Your Highness.” The woman stepped away from Kei -- or rather Koumei -- before bowing almost 90 degree. She was as tensed as when she received Hakuryuu’s order.

“P-Prince? This guy??” said Kei, his finger pointed toward the expressionless redhead as he stared at his guide. “He doesn’t look like a prince at all! What’s up with his bed hair, acne scars, and eye bags?? Why does he look so overworked when he’s supposed to be a prince?!”

By this point in Kei’s rant, the servant had turned as pale as glass. That is, she seemed to have fade from existence due to horror.

Kei gulped, his fellow servant’s reaction luring him out of the heated power up that always came with his retorts. _ I shouldn’t say anything else _ , thought Kei as he sneaked a peek at the strangely emotionless face of Koumei.  _ Even though he has my jacket for some reasons… and is eyeing my legs. _

“Who are you?” said Koumei, lifting a hand to scratch the side of his head. The second prince had noticed that the raven-haired servant kept glancing almost longingly at the mysterious clothing draped over his left arm.

“I’m Kei Nozaki, Prince Koumei.” answered Kei with his back straightened. He had been quite disrespectful earlier after all. “I was assigned as Prince Hakuryuu’s assistant by Princess Hakuei.”

Koumei’s brows furrowed slightly as his head leaned a little to the right. There was very little -- if any -- information concerning the Kou Empire that the second prince could be unaware of. Especially if it involved his siblings. “When did Hakuei-dono assign you?”

“T-Today.” said Kei, rather alarmed by the prince’s glare. He looked intimidating despite his shabby appearance, and the commoner just remembered that he could be executed simply by offending a member of royalty.  _ Do I even have the right to a fair trial here? _ Kei thought, a sweat running down his cheek.

Koumei nodded. “That explains a lot.” said the prince, while trying to figure out why Hakuei would assign the person in front of him to her beloved younger brother. He hardly looked strong or wise, lacking in both muscles and grace, as well as the ability to keep calm. Although he seemed honest and open, such qualities would be a double-edged sword for Hakuryuu’s retainer. After all, while he was someone who commonly kept people at a distance, Hakuryuu had more than enough honesty -- so the two could easily end up bumping heads with each other. Besides, in his current rebellious phrase, someone like Kei could easily drive the fourth prince out of his comfort zone, and into rash, undesirable actions.  _ It would seem that Hakuei-dono had chosen him on the hope that his similarity to Hakuryuu would allow them to get along _ , Koumei thought. It sounded like what the princess would do as Hakuryuu’s older sister. The boy had never made many friends after all. Realizing that he had been silence for quite a while, Koumei said, “Let me see your documents.” 

Kei blinked, a sweatdrop running down the back of his neck as he mentally screamed,  _ Crap, how could I have any?? _ “My.. what?”

“Your results on the National Exam.” said Koumei, “Since you are a commoner, you have to score very high to become a government official.”

“Ehhhhh, I…” dragged Kei, his average joe brain working desperately to come up with a good reply.  _ Come on Kei, think!  _ “I didn’t take the exam!” 

_ Crap. _ By now, the raven-haired teen was sweating profusely as he watched the prince’s eyebrows arched up. “It is required by law that all of our people, with exceptions of slaves, take the National Exam.” said Koumei, as his eyebrows returned to their natural height. “Even sickness cannot excuse a person from it. Judging by your unusual apparel, you are from another country, aren’t you?”

Kei nodded slowly, while his brain yelled These clothes are from here!  _...Oh wait, I think he means my jeans. _ “I’m from Ja-- an island country.” said Kei. As he was not sure of anything about this place, the assistant figured it would not be wise to say Japan.

“Ja? I have never heard of that country.” The second prince went silence for a moment. “Is that what Kina is calling itself nowaday?” said Koumei at last. He had come to the conclusion that since Kina -- the only island country in the East -- had cut contact with the other countries, it most likely decided to conceal or change its name to avoid being discovered.

Deciding to play along despite his urge to retort, Kei hurriedly nodded. Koumei narrowed his eyes.

“Why are you here then?” said Koumei, his expression turning cold. The possibility that the teen in front of him was a spy could not be ignored. Still, even if he wasn’t a spy, the fact that he was standing here showed Koumei huge flaws in the current level of security. Whether or not the boy nervously staring at him was actually skilled, more guards needed to be deploy around the palace for the safety of his siblings and confidential documents.

Kei breathed in. “How many questions are you going to ask me?!!” said the raven-haired teen, unable to restrain his natural instinct anymore. “We’re have been going at this for more than 30 minutes! Look-- my legs and she has dozed off a long time ago!” Kei pointed to the servant who had been ordered to show him around. She peeked at them with teary eyes, rudely awakened by Kei’s loud voice.

Koumei blinked, his face mirroring whose of a nerd who had just found a equation he has never seen, or didn’t expected. The prince scratched his head. “Should we go sit down then?” said Koumei, suddenly feeling like he was dealing with Kouen. The first prince of Kou was the only male who would retort his words and actions without hesitation after all.

Kei mentally groaned. Prince or not, this man was starting to get too annoying. Understandable, but still annoying. “Prince, I  _ really _ should be going now.” said Kei as he bowed. “Hakuryuu-sama is who I should be assisting.”

An unusual response, one that a spy -- regardless of experience -- would not utter under any sane circumstances. After all, he was now the second prince of Kou while Hakuryuu had dropped down to the rank of fourth prince.  _ Does he believe that Hakuryuu knows something I don’t? _ Koumei thought. The Fire happened almost nine years ago, so the teen in front of him couldn’t have been more than a child. Had a higher up of Kina specifically ordered him to keep an eye on the fourth prince, who had been forgotten by the public? If so, the explanation for his seemingly frank manners would be to appear harmless and innocent of any ulterior motive.

“Come with me then. I have something to discuss with Hakuryuu.” said Koumei as he started walking to the library opposite to the one he had been occupying since last night. There were twenty-one rooms used as such in the palace, containing every information related to the Kou Empire and its government. The library they were heading to was not one of them. Turning to the servant who was now wide awake, he added, “Bring Hakuryuu here.”

“R-R-Right away Prince Koumei!” she said, saluting hurriedly before dashing off to locate the fourth prince. 

Left with no other options, given his incomplete knowledge of the area, Kei followed the crimson-haired prince across the hall with a sigh.  _ Ogi-san, Inaba-san, please come get me home… _

 


	6. As Shadows Begin to Move

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry that I took quite a while with this chapter, but a part of this chapter had been really hard to write ;w; Thankfully I now have my friend beta-ing, so she helped me a lot. 
> 
> Also, White Ridge Palace is the name of the Kou Empire's palace according to Sense-Scans translation of chapter 243, page 6, and Ithnan's hair is blond in the manga.

Echoes of footsteps rang in a rhyme through the large, elaborated halls of the royal palace. Besides the empress - who was on her way to the throne room where the current emperor, Koutoku Ren, always spent his evenings - the hallway was empty. With each step Gyokuen took, however, came a non-described whisper of juicy information, poured into her ears by the dark rukh of Al-Thamen. Ever since Judal had told Gyokuen about the interesting addition to their palace, the empress had ordered Ithnan and the others to scout around. The find was easy. While there was no increase in the flow of Solomon's rukh, there was an abnormally large amount of black rukh inside one of the infirmaries. Thinking that her god had finally sent an messenger to help their cause, tender tears escaped the confine of her eyelids. They fell softly into her sleeves, but stopped as she began to wonder why such a messenger appear before her son, not her? Even among her comrades in Al-Thamen, she was his most faithful follower...

The empress lost her smile, but it returned with a extra dose of sweetness as she thought, _even if it has a will of its own, we just have to tame it… like Judal_. As the empress pushed open the doors, she caught a glimpse of familiar blond hair. Like she had instructed a few months ago, Ithnan had just finished giving Koutoku his daily bottle of alcohol, poisoned for their convenience. While passing each other without a glance, Gyokuen murmured, "Go keep an eye on Hakuryuu."

"As you wish." he whispered back.

/vvv/

No matter how hard Hakuryuu trained, no matter how much he pushed himself, it just wasn't enough. He aimed a right blow at his instructor, while keeping guard on his left- where they had been focusing on since about a week ago, when Hakuryuu was told that he tended to expose his left side to attacks. He suffered quite a lot of injuries then, and still quite a bit now. It wasn't his fault that everything turned blurry on that side, but such excuse would never be uttered by him or his teachers.

The regimen consisted of thirty minutes of sparring, then a five minutes break, followed by another thirty minutes of sparring. Repeated over the course of four hours, after which all three of his instructors must attend to other tasks, and he would be left to practice on his own - which wasn't a bad thing. He preferred that his flaws be kept secret, but it would be hard to make much improvements without criticism. That's why he must make the most of this time, since they could never train him all day.

Caught in his worries, Hakuryuu did not notice his mentors' strategy until they had him surrounded. Two of his teachers charged at him, coming from opposite directions. The last cut off his attempt to back away toward more optimal ground. Hakuryuu was cornered, but he was not giving up. His guan dao pointing forward, the prince tried to force his way through the right. Although he overwhelmed the older man in strength, his techniques were still inferior.

A blow to his forehead threw him away from combat, while a hand attempted to take away his weapon. Still, Hakuryuu would not yield, and managed to keep a firm hold of it as he tumbled onto the ground. His instructors towered over him, wordlessly taunting him to stand up. If he could not even defeat them, he would never accomplish his duty. Gritting his teeth, Hakuryuu stabbed the end of his pole into the earth- using it to support his weight as he rose to his feet.

"Prince Hakuryuu!" shouted a vaguely familiar voice. "I greatly apologize for interrupting, but Prince Koumei wishes to have a word with you."

It was only when she stopped in front of him, saluting, that Hakuryuu remembered she was the one he had asked to show Kei around. "I understand," said the prince with a polite smile. Hakuryuu turned to his instructors, meeting each pair of eyes although not really seeing them. "Thank you for today's lessons."

The three men bowed without a word in reply, then waited until Hakuryuu was gone before dismissing themselves. On their way to the soldiers' training ground, one of the three veterans looked up at the dark sky. Like the veil that covered those priests' faces, heavy clouds shrouded everything above- making it impossible to tell even the time. Maybe it was still evening, or maybe it was night. Prince Hakuryuu did not work like a clock as usual, so he could not be rely on. "He was tardy today." mused the instructor, causing his peers to turn toward him. "Maybe we should report to Lord Kouen?"

"That would be best," replied another veteran, "but we must be discreet."

/vvv/

In the fourth library of the White Ridge Palace, the second prince and Kei awaited the arrival of Hakuryuu. Only twenty minutes had gone by since they last spoken in the hallways, but the tension was thick enough to cut with a dull blade - at least in Kei's mind. The assistant sat cross-legged on the floor as he pretended to read the book on his lap. Although some parts seemed like Kanji, such as the one that means white, the others were incomprehensible to him. Stealing another glance toward the table where Koumei was sitting, Kei's cheeks puffed up. He was trying real hard to keep his retorts in, but everything was proving to be more bizarre than a goat robbing a bank.

Oblivious to the suffering of the person beside him, the second prince carefully rubbed his palm on the fabric of clothing he had confiscated from two housemaids. It felt strange, made of neither silk nor cotton, or any other fabric he knew. It had also been sewed using an unconventional method. Everything about it was foreign, but what captured his interest most was the teeth-like metal blended into it. While it could be an emblem of sorts, Koumei could not recognize it. _Not even the dungeons have these things,_ thought the prince as he flipped to the next page of the record book - which contained the list of things they have discovered in their expeditions. Most carpets found and brought back by their soldiers had been made of high quality fabric, woven with technology similar to theirs. In comparison...

"This feels cheap." concluded the prince.

"I'm sorry I'm poor!" snapped Kei, unable to retrain himself once his sore spot had been pushed. "I mean, I understand that modern technology is very alien-like here but is synthetic fabric that interesting? And why have you been stroking it like it's a precious kitten, as its owner I'm totally creeped out!"

"This is yours?" said Koumei, setting the jacket down onto the table. The prince stood and walked toward the growingly suspicious boy. _Maybe I should call Hakuei-dono here as well, although she is busy preparing for her dungeon conquest._

Before Koumei could say anything else, the door creaked open. A navy-haired teen stepped in warily, his scarred face scrunched up in a way that reminded Kei of Inaba whenever Ogata came to visit their agency. As he closed the door behind him, however, the look on Hakuryuu's face changed. A tranquil mask had slipped on, although his shoulders were stiff as he saluted Koumei. The youngest prince could not drop his act, even after seeing that only his cousin and Kei were in the room.

"How may I be of assistance?" asked Hakuryuu, his voice full of politeness and none of his feelings. Confusion, suspicion, interest, astonishment… Hakuryuu wasn't sure what to feel. They hadn't spoken to each other since the Fire happened, so the youngest prince could not understand why his cousin would call him now, of all times. As he walked further into the library though, a new thought entered his mind. Just what did his new retainer _do_?

"Hakuryuu," said Koumei in his usual disinterested tone, "I want you to leave your assistant in my care. He is not fit to be your retainer."

Seeing the instant change in Hakuryuu's eyes, Koumei added. "Don't get me wrong. This man is not a member of our empire, so it is simply illogical to entrust him with the tasks expected of a royal retainer. It is best for us to keep him under surveillance as a prisoner."

"What if I prefer to keep him as my retainer?" said Hakuryuu. Although he did not truly want Kei around, being demanded to give him up to Koumei irked him. Besides, having to retainers who are primarily loyal to his cousins would be more than irritating. It would be troublesome.

"Let's discuss this rationally, Hakuryuu," said Koumei, staring down at the shorter prince. "If you want retainers, there are many qualified people in our palace and army, including people you have known since childhood. There is no need to appoint someone from another country, who we know nothing about. It is too reckless."

_Kouha takes in questionable people into his army all the time. There's no difference between them and Kei._ Despite his thoughts, Hakuryuu said, "In that case, isn't it more logical to leave him under my surveillance? Since you also have duties to attend to as a general of the army."

As the two royals were busy discussing his fate, without any regard to his presence, Kei slowly distanced himself from Koumei. Given his words about treating him as a prisoner, the crimson-haired prince now seemed much more dangerous - especially to a commoner like him. Although he ended up finding himself closer to Hakuryuu by chance, something about the scarred prince disarmed his fear. The boy did not feel like a threat, even with that frown and furrowed brows.

The discussion was getting heated, evidenced by the increase in volume. Out of habit, Kei's hand reached down to feel the phone inside his pants' pocket - his subconscious urging him to call Ogino. His action must have alarmed the princes as they stopped and turned toward him with widen eyes. Instantly, and despite the irony, Kei raised his hands like a suspect caught by the cops. It was suddenly hard to breathe. Everything was cold, and so he began to wonder if this could be how Don Valentino feels every time he runs into them.

"Your assistant is weird Hakuryuu." said a familiar, flamboyant voice.

Suddenly, something cold slid down the back of Kei's back, making him recoiled in fright - only to collide into a ladder. A few scrolls rained down on him, followed by laughter. Still dazed by the sudden chill seeping into his skin, Kei could barely register the jeweled wand pointed at him as he looked up into glinting red eyes. There was now a block of ice, about the size of a person, where Kei had been standing. A flash of light shined into his eyes, making him freeze as jingles of gold bracelets rang in his ears.

"Judal, stop it." said Hakuryuu as water began to condense in the air. His voice brought Kei back to his senses. Springing to his feet, Kei found himself looking back and forth between his attacker and the princes, unable to muster any retort.

The magi pouted. "But your conversation was _so boring_." said Judal, throwing his arms up as though it would illustrate his point. "I took the trouble of tracking you down only to find you arguing with Pimples about him - seriously, it's such a waste of time. Just let Hakuryuu have whoever he wants as his retainer - it's not like one or two is going to hurt." As Judal removed his wand from Kei's face, his gaze fell upon the second prince.

"What is it, High Priest?" asked Koumei.

Shrugging, the magi replied, "I ran into Kouen on the way here, and he said that he needs you for a meeting or something."

Realizing that he had missed one of his important duties, Koumei sighed. Exhaustion from pulling an all-nighter returned to him, but he shook a part of it away while turning toward Hakuryuu. There was now a dullness in his posture, as though he had lost interest in everything but sleep. "Well, he is in your hands then, Hakuryuu," said the prince as he scratched his head. "On the condition that you inform me of any strange behavior, and things like this." To show what he meant, Koumei walked over to the table to lift up Kei's jacket. He then spread it out, holding it at the sleeves, in order to see Hakuryuu's reaction. Recognition flashed in the mismatched eyes, and that was all Koumei needed.

"All right," said Hakuryuu. "If he proves himself to be suspicious, I'll tell you."


End file.
